Never Say Never (The Ladies Who Brunch 1)

Chapter3

Charlotte

When the door shuts to my office, I brace myself for the fuzziness I know is going to crash into me as soon as I sit up, so I move slowly to a seated position as I pull the sheet around my body so I don’t fall off the table.

That massage—that was not the typical massage I get from Sonya.

There was something different about the way Jeffrey touched me, the path his fingers took as they danced across my skin, the hesitation in his voice as he pressed his palms into my back, but then the confidence I felt in his touch once he grew more comfortable. Perhaps he was just nervous since it was his first day, but what concerns me even more, is the reaction I had to his massage.

It’s been a while since a man has touched me, and even though the massage was not meant to be sexual, his touch had desire flowing through my veins and straight down to the juncture between my legs. The unnecessary reminder of how long it’s been since I had sex was all I could think about as the awareness of a man massaging me remained steadfast in my brain.

I tried hard to hide the way he was making my body feel, but at one point, all I wanted was for him to inflict some pain so I could focus on that and not on how amazing it truly felt. So I told him to press harder, massage deeper, and then all I could think about is how saying those words out loud made me sound like Monica from Friends getting a massage, moaning sex noises even though that’s exactly what I was trying to avoid.

With a glance at the clock, I shake myself out of the haze I’m in knowing I have to get to my meeting and now I’m running behind. Once I’m dressed again, I open the door to find Helen back at her desk, sipping on her drink from her lunch.

“Did you get any work done?” she asks me as I walk past her desk.

“No, I had my massage.”

Helen’s face scrunches up with confusion. “What do you mean? Sonya called earlier and left a message while I was out. Apparently, she had an emergency and couldn’t make it.”

“I know. They sent a replacement.”

Her brow furrows further. “Are you sure? She said she’d make it up to you next time since they didn’t have someone to cover her.”

I shrug, even though my intuition is telling me something is off here, but I don’t have time to dig into this further right now. I’m going to be late. “Well, I guess they found someone. And he was great. I told him I’d make sure to leave a glowing review with the company.”

Helen relaxes once she hears the cheeriness in my voice. “Oh, a male massage therapist? Was he good with his hands?”

“Um, yeah. He was.” Stop thinking about it, Charlotte. Your skin is all tingly again.

“Maybe I need to get regular massages.”

“You know I love mine. They always make me feel more relaxed.”

“I bet they do,” Helen replies suggestively. And all I can do is shake my head at her. “Okay then. Off to your meeting?”

“Yup. See you in a little bit.”

I walk out of my office and down to the conference room where all the senior executives were called to go over the finances for the end of the quarter. And even though I try really hard, my thoughts carelessly drift back to my massage from earlier, and what I wouldn’t give for it to have been a happy ending instead.

* * *

“Have you ever been turned on by a massage?” I say out loud, right after our drinks are delivered. It’s Wednesday night and a new restaurant in town opened this week, so naturally, Penelope got us a reservation from her many connections.

“What were you having massaged?” Noelle asks as Penelope snickers.

I roll my eyes but answer the question anyway. “It was my normal weekly massage, but Sonya wasn’t available so they sent a man in her place. And he was…” I stare off into space, revisiting that hour on Monday for the hundredth time.

“Was he hot?” Amelia asks. “It’s normal to find a member of the opposite sex attractive, even if they are your massage therapist.”

“That’s the thing. I never saw him. He came in, insisted I didn’t lift my head from the table and got to work once he got a little more comfortable. And then the more he touched me…”

“Did you get a happy ending?” Penelope asks before taking a sip of her martini.

“God, no. But I definitely was revved up and ready to go by the end.” I smack my forehead. “Jeez, you guys. I’ve been fantasizing about a faceless massage therapist for the past forty-eight hours. I need to get laid. It’s been so long.”

“How long?”

I think back as far as I can, but Penelope interjects before I can answer. “If you have to think about it for that long, it’s been too long, my friend.”

“I know. And it’s not like I haven’t taken care of myself, you know? But sometimes you just need an actual dick.”

“Hear, hear.”

“I have some new models of toys you can take a look at if you’re looking for something new,” Amelia chimes in.

“Thanks, but there’s that feeling that a toy can’t give you. I think that’s what I’m missing.”

“I get what you’re saying,” Noelle speaks. “Being with a man isn’t just about his dick sometimes. It’s about feeling wanted, touched in places other than your pretty kitty, right?”

“Exactly.” I point across the table at her. “And the last time I experienced that was with Tom.”

“Oh, three-position Tom,” Penelope sings. “Do you think he’s learned anything new since he was with you?”

“Probably not. The man was such a creature of habit in his entire life that it filtered into the bedroom. I knew exactly what he was going to do before he even did it. Sex was always the same, which doesn’t help my need for something filthy and raunchy right about now.”

Penelope nods. “Sometimes a woman just needs to be fucked, and fucked well. Hair pulling, ass smacking, dirty talking sex.”

“To dirty, raunchy, sex!” Noelle cheers as we all lift our drinks to clink our glasses together.

I lift my glass to my lips just as a figure to my right catches my eye. And then I almost spit out my cocktail. “Oh my God,” I whisper, setting my drink down and then turning my body away from that direction.

“What?” Amelia asks as the three of them start perusing the room.

“Don’t look over there.”